


cryptic messages

by Pomfry



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magical Realism, Dark Magic, F/M, Healer Sakumo, Kaguya is a mother first and foremost, Sakumo is sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-03
Updated: 2018-09-03
Packaged: 2019-07-06 13:42:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15887199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pomfry/pseuds/Pomfry
Summary: Kaguya has a deep well of hate. And she hates everyone in this stupid village.





	cryptic messages

Her steps are heavy against the ground. Her limbs feel like lead and her magic is decaying, rotting, but growing. She’s more powerful than ever and it’s at a terrible price. Her mind, her health. But it will be worth it. She has two baby boys at home, both sleeping in their beds, and this world is a harsh one, one with killers and thieves. She’s doing this to protect the only family she has left, and any price would be worth it.

If her sanity dies, withers away like a plant in a desert, then so be it.

The dust runs away, the little rocks dancing in the weight of her feet. She’s running out of breath, her vision turning dark, and the horns that grew the more she developed her magic is, for the first time since she gained them, weighted against her head. She gets stares for being in the village proper instead of in the outskirts where she should be. She ignores them, used to this treatment.

She’s shunned in her village. Shunned and discriminated against. Her family used to be the most powerful in the world. Then — 

Then the war came. And their numbers dwindled down to just Kaguya and her father and her father...her father never fit in. So now it’s just Kaguya and her sons, and she knows that her boys are powerful in magic, in spirit and body, and Kaguya is so proud of them it aches. But they’re only five. Just old enough to play outside. Just old enough to try to help her with dinner. So Kaguya needs to protect them.

Her magic is dark. That’s the plain truth of it. It’s dark and it’s killing her, but she refuses to die until her sons are grown.

She draws in a labored breath, collapsing to her knees. Nobody comes to help her, not even when she spits out blood. She’s the social pariah and so are her sons. Why would anyone help her?

(Kaguya has a deep well of hate. She hates how the world is, hates how everyone ignores those that don’t fit in. She used to have suitor after suitor, all raving about her beauty. Now she’s too pale, her hair too long. She’s no longer the beauty of the lands. And Kaguya would prefer it, but sometimes people look at her and say, “You used to be so beautiful. It’s a shame that you’re like this.”

They look at her precious boys and say, “Your mother is evil.”

Yes, Kaguya has a deep well of hate. And she hates everyone in this stupid village.)

She needs to get herbs. She has a healing spell she can do with the right plants, and she ran out of some yesterday. She didn’t notice until after she went deep inside her and tore out more of that darkness for her magic. Until her body functions started to die on her.

Until she went to sleep and only woke up when Hamura started to jump on her in an attempt to get her up for breakfast.

She drags herself to her feet, balancing herself on a wall. She wipes her lips, brushes the dirt off of her white dress. Hides the dark veins on her hands in her sleeves and walks forward unsteadily, spine straight. Her feet are bare on the ground, whispering across the dirt.

Her vision is turning darker. She needs to hurry.

Kaguya quickens her pace, just enough that it makes it harder to breathe, and then —

Then her knees give out. And everything turns black.

 

——

 

The smell of incense wakes her up. It’s soft and subtle and when Kaguya opens her eyes, she’s on a bed. It’s soft, she thinks, and runs her fingers across the blanket. She has little money in her life, so she can’t afford this. Her sons sleep on scratchy blankets and straw and Kaguya swears she’s going to change it. Once she gets strong enough, she’s going to give them everything they need.

A man hums from across the room, silver hair hanging in a long ponytail down his back, and she sits up slowly, cautiously. She doesn’t know if she needs to fight — her magic supplies are still weak from the ritual, but —

But if it means she can get back to her sons, then so be it. She will get blood on her hands and she will not bring herself to regret it. 

She slides her feet over the edge of the bed, tries to stand. Her legs can’t carry her weight and she ends up falling, hand grabbing onto the bed to make sure she doesn’t land on her face. Still, it’s enough to get the man’s attention and he turns around, hair sliding across his clothes with the motion.

Kaguya blinks. Her cheeks heat up. The man is  _ attractive, dammit. _

He laughs, getting to his feet to help her up, gently settling her on the bed. “Don’t move,” he says softly, and reaches onto his belt to grab a water skin, setting it against her lips. “Drink this. It’ll heal your body.”

And for the first time she woke up, Kaguya takes account of her health. It’s...better than it has been for the past two years. Her arms don’t shake, her eyelids aren’t heavy. Is this man the cause?

“Your magic was killing you,” the man says once she finishes taking a sip. His eyes are earnest, his touch on her knee light. “Why did you continue?”

No one has ever asked her that before. They only sneered at her and feared her. It’s a nice change from the usual.

“My sons,” Kaguya rasps before clearing her throat. “My sons. They need protecting.”

“You mean the boys sitting outside of this room?” he asks, and she can only nod. He smiles, a bit sadly. “I can understand that. Do you want to see them?”

She can only nod. “Please.”

The man goes and opens the door and Kaguya casts a mild spell over herself to make it so that she doesn’t look like she was near death earlier. He gives her a warning look, a silent  _ stop that right now  _ as her sons run into the room, slamming into her knees.

“Ma!” Hamura shouts, stretching his arms above his head. “Ma, Ma!”

“Yes, yes, Hamura,” she chuckles, running a hand through his hair. She grabs him from under his arms, lifting him onto the bed and doing the same to his brother. Hagoromo crawls into her lap, clings to her dress as Hamura curls up in her side. She kisses their heads and looks up at the man.

“What’s your name?” she asks, and he grins, crooked and fond.

“Hatake Sakumo,” he says with a flourish. “At your service.”

Kaguya smiles, extending her hand for him to kiss. “I am Otsutsuki Kaguya. And these are my sons, Hagoromo and Hamura.”

“Nice to meet you, Lady Kaguya. I’m a healer and staying in town for a while now, so tell me if you need my help again.” He pokes Hamura, who giggles. “I don’t want these two to be left alone.”

Kaguya smiles. “No, we don’t.” She sighs, wrapping her arms around her sons and pulling them close. “How long was I unconscious?”

“Oh, just about three hours,” Sakumo replies easily as he returns to his herbs. “I had to work fast, so you’ll need to stay here for a day or two so I can finish it up.”

Kaguya closes her eyes, leaning backward until she falls onto the bed, her sons grunting in protest.

She has found a healer, she thinks. He’s a nice man, she can tell. She had cast a spell upon herself so that she could tell if anyone had malicious intentions towards her family, and Sakumo doesn’t.

She has found a healer, she thinks, and smiles. He would make a good father figure to her sons. They need someone to look up to that is not her, and Sakumo will do excellently.

Sakumo glances up at her, eyes sparkling with hidden amusement, and she smiles back.

Yes, he will do.


End file.
